Story comments - Reporter-Times.com/MD-Times.com

Hot topics » Ratts hopes to emulate Wooden Stierwalt never too busy to ... Obituaries - May 22, 2013

Judge to give verdict Friday

read more recent story comments Reader comments

Ledge
Thursday, September 8, 2011: 11:19 am
More from Ledge

Why do the news stations blur his face out but The Reporter doesn't? Brian, can you answer this?

Brian Culp
Thursday, September 8, 2011: 12:14 pm
More from Brian Culp

This is a tough one that we wrestled with as a staff in the last two days. We identified Nathan Butler from the beginning because the rest of his family had been identified and we weren't really keeping anything private by leaving out the name. Also, the name was given out freely by the prosecutor at a press conference.
When it comes to the photo, I talked with my staff and several other editors in our company before deciding to run with it. There certainly is something different in using his name than there is in using his image.
Ultimately, we decided the photo was taken in a high-profile place and it is a high-profile case. In the past Nathan Butler has shielded his face. This time he didn't. We would not really be protecting his identity by blurring his face any more than we would by withholding his name.
In short, it was a hard decision, but we came down on the side of using the photo and showing his face.
Brian Culp
Managing editor

Ledge
Thursday, September 8, 2011: 4:02 pm
More from Ledge

Thanks for the answer Brian. Not sure why my question has been given a negative rating. It was an honest question.

Cerberus
Thursday, September 8, 2011: 6:34 pm
More from Cerberus

@Brian Maybe now is a good time to put a policy in place for future events (cases where a youth is involved), unless you are wanting to set a precedent. Consistency in reporting adds to creditability.

4 comments found